How Long Did You Think This Could Last?
by Lord Chungus
Summary: Sayaka's parents want Kyoko to leave, and stop living with them. Sayaka doesn't want to hurt her friend. Kyoko wants to eat a whole bunch of food. One-shot.


From the outside, it would have seemed like a completely normal day in the Miki household. The three of them were gathered in the living room: Sayaka was finishing up her homework, her father was watching TV, and her mother was reading a newspaper.

Their adopted redhead, on the other hand, was once again scouring the pantry of any remaining food.

Sighing, Sayaka's father turned to his daughter. "Sayaka," he said. "About Kyoko..."

"What about her?"

Once again, Sayaka's father sighed. "Sayaka, she can't stay with us. She's got to go.

Sayaka's mother chimed in. "She's been living in our apartment for a week, and in that time she's eaten our entire pantry! Twice!"

"But!" Sayaka raised a hand, intent on convincing her parents otherwise, but she suddenly stopped. Her parents looked _very_ convinced, and, yes, the pantry was _very_ empty.

She sighed. "Alright. I get it. And I guess she can stay with Mami... I'll go tell her." Shoulders slumped, Sayaka headed off to the kitchen.

"Hey, Kyoko…" Sayaka entered the kitchen, searching for her redheaded friend, before her gaze settled on a shape in front of the fridge. A teenager sized shape making some rather _distinctive_ eating noises...

Sayaka sighed. "Kyoko… is that the ham?"

Kyoko took her head out of the fridge and turned to face Sayaka, showing her host that yes, she _was_ in fact eating the ham, which Sayaka's mother had bought for a special occasion. A special occasion that was _not_ 'Kyoko being hungry'.

"Yep," Kyoko said, shamelessly taking another bite out of the ham. "I know it's a bit much for a snack, but it's the only thing left to eat. So what did you want to talk about?"

Sayaka nervously scratched the back of her head. "Well, uh, I wanted to talk to you about… you know, you living here."

Kyoko smiled. "Yeah, it was so amazing of you to let me stay here!"

Sayaka grimaced. "See, that's the thing-"

Unaware or uncaring of Sayaka's interruption, Kyoko continued. "It really means a lot to me, having a family that cares about me."

"I-"

"After my old family died horribly, I mean."

"Y-Yeah. That's, um, pretty fucked up, Yeah, but-"

"And it's taken a while, but I think I'm finally starting to trust people again! Like you and your family, who I trust would never ever do anything to hurt me!"

Sayaka bit her lip. She didn't want to kick Kyoko out, but her parents _had_ said so, and Kyoko _was_ going through food at an alarming rate. "I… I, uh, was talking to my parents, and-"

Kyoko's expression fell. "They want me gone, don't they? I get it."

Shit. Sayaka stared at the young girl in front of her, a girl who, until recently, hadn't had a home or a family. A girl who… fuck, a girl who Sayaka couldn't just kick to the curb!

"No, no, no," Sayaka said. "I was... I was talking to them, aaand we decided you should stay here! For as long as you want!"

With that one sentence, Kyoko's face lit up, a wide grin forming on her face. "Really? That's great! In fact, this calls for a celebration! And by celebration, I mean meal! I'll go get it ready!"

Sayaka laughed nervously as Kyoko left to find food. "Yeah… hehehe… oh, what am I going to tell my parents?"

An important question, especially considering that her father poked his head into the room moments later. "Sayaka?" he said. "Is she gone?"

Sayaka jumped, startled by his sudden appearance. "Ahh! Hey dad.." Ah shit, what to tell him? "Well, uh, you see… I talked to her, but…"

Sayaka's mom chose this moment to _also_ poke her head around the corner. "But?"

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound! "Buuuut she left immediately! She's already gone, in fact! And there's no need to look for her to say goodbye!"

Sayaka's mom raised an eyebrow. "Really? She's already gone? That was quick."

Sayaka flashed a nervous thumbs up. "Yep! Super quick! You know Kyoko!"

Her father frowned. "She's already gone? As much of a pain she was, I at least wanted to say goodbye. I don't want the poor girl to think we're just kicking her out, after all…"

Sayaka gulped "Well, uhh-"

It was at this moment that Kyoko, walked in, carrying an armful of food. "Heya guys!" she said. "There wasn't enough food for a _proper_ 'you're letting me stay here forever' celebration, so Imma head out and get some more! Love you all!"

With that, she left, leaving the food she had brought in and heading out to get some more.

"..."

Sayaka's parents stared at the door.

Sayaka stared at her parents, beads of sweat dripping down her face.

Sayaka's parents stared at Sayaka.

Sayaka lowered her gaze and stared at the floor, beads of sweat dripping down her face and landing on the tile floor with a _plop_.

Sayaka's parents kept staring at her.

Sayaka kept staring at the floor

Eventually, Sayaka's: mom spoke up. "You told Kyoko she could stay with us forever."

"Y-Yeah…"

"And you told _us_ that Kyoko was already gone?"

"Yeah…"

Sayaka's mom sighed, reaching forward to put a hand on Sayaka's shoulder. "How long did you expect that lie to last?"

Sayaka smiled nervously and self-deprecatingly. "I was hoping maybe five minutes?"

Shaking her head, Sayaka's mother said: "Well… when you said she was gone, I _did_ almost miss her… She really is fun. And I suppose she's not _that_ bad when it comes to food…"

Sayaka's face lit up. "So she can stay?"

Sayaka's mom nodded her head. "Yes, I suppose she can."

Sayaka jumped with joy, heading towards the door with a spring in her step. "Thank you so much, you guys are the best! I'll go tell Kyoko!"

She left the apartment at a rather alarming speed, leaving the door unshut in her haste. Her parents stared at the door for a few seconds before turning to face each other.

"She knows Kyoko never knew she was kicked out, right?"


End file.
